We Have Extradited 5 Individuals to the USA, They Have Not Extradited Anyone to Us: Anna Vardapetyan

The Republic of Armenia does not have a reciprocal state treaty with the USA, yet our country has already extradited 5 individuals based on multi-lateral agreements, while they have not returned a single person to us. This was stated by Armenia's Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan during a session of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, responding to a question from My Step Alliance MP Lilit Minasyan regarding the extradition of individuals in criminal cases to Armenia.

“We demand, and every time we receive a refusal. They say that since we do not have a bilateral state agreement, we cannot return individuals to you. Numerous documents have been sent to them. It is delivered both through diplomatic channels and in person if any official is here. It is also sent via email, for sure,” she noted.

As for European countries, Vardapetyan stated that it seems the freeze on extradition processes with many EU countries has begun to thaw. “Many European countries are already extraditing individuals to us, and we are doing the same for them. This is a process based on mutual trust. Trust is the strongest yet simultaneously the most fragile thing. That’s why we have tried every possible way to earn it over the past year,” the prosecutor emphasized.

According to her, the level of trust with European countries is so high that they are working through email correspondence. Regarding Russia, she mentioned that they face a different issue: the individuals that Armenia wants Russia to extradite have the status of asylum seekers in that country.